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©1999, Lockergnome LC. All Rights Reserved. Subscription inquiries are answered below. Content written by Chris Pirillo. Website hosted by DigitalDaze. If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done.


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Lockergnome
01.13.1999 - GnomeREPORT

In case you didn't catch it in this past weekend's text weekly digest, you'll be happy to know that you'll be able to chat with me and other Lockergnomies -- I'm teaming up with Will from ActivePC for an online chat session -- January 15, 1999 (this coming Friday), be sure you're there at 8:00PM CST (GMT -06:00). We'll have surprise guests, talk about tips & tricks, answer your questions, and who knows what else? The chat will take place on IRC. Just switch your server to irc.webmaster.com (the room is #activepc). If you don't have an IRC chat client, you can access the chat room from the web at http://www.gamepost.com/activepc/chat.htm. I really hope to see you there!

Some of us remember our first baby steps. Others of us remember our first kiss. Well, I can remember those things, too. But I'll also have the memory of installing my first USB peripheral! Let me say that the age of Plug & Play has finally arrived to the PC universe. I needed to get an external mouse for Manny III, so I got the Logitech USB Wheel Mouse. The great thing about USB is the ability to plug devices in without having to shut of your computer first. So after booting into Windows 98, I inserted tab A into slot B. Presto! In a matter of seconds, it was identifying the hardware and asking me to load the drivers from the Windows CD-ROM. The mouse worked perfectly along with my Touchpad, although the wheel didn't (because I didn't load the Logitech drivers). USB is fun!

And, uh... you should really pay attention to the side columns a little more often. There's been an Easter Egg in every single Lockergnome Daily HTML issue... you can always find it at the end of the CREDITS. I've also started to throw "automatic price searches" in there for you to use--click on one and see what happens. Keep your eye on the side column... it's not just for looks.

-- Chris Pirillo        


GnomePROGRAM

Tray Shortcuts v3.2 [15k] W9x/NT FREE

http://www.cyberramp.net/~clovis/tscuts.zip

Internet Explorer 4.0 added new toolbar functionality to both the Windows 95 & 98 Taskbars. But, what if you don't have IE4 installed and would still like to have miniature shortcuts residing somewhere in your Taskbar? To use this (incredibly small) program, simply place shortcuts you'd like to have show up in your System Tray in any given folder, "Browse" to that folder, and voila! You can configure Tray Shortcuts to respond to single or double clicks, too. Of course, you probably have more than enough programs sitting in there to begin with... but at least with this program, you could add ANY shortcut you wanted. Classic Windows 95 users should love it!


GnomeSYSTEM

Trouble In Paradise (TIP) v2.0 [66k] W9x/NT FREE

ftp://grc.com/tip.exe
http://grc.com/clickdeath.htm

Most Iomega drive owners have heard of (but not actually heard) the "Click of Death" before; once you hear it, there's almost no hope for salvaging the drive or the disk currently inside the drive. But how can you tell if the CoD is about to happen? You can't. But with this (updated) utility, you can run diagnostics on both your Zip & Jaz drives and their disks... which could potentially save you from an impending disaster!


GnomeCANDY

iconJAM 98 icons [33k] W9x/NT FREE

http://www.iconplanet.com/iconplaneticons/zip/iconJAM98.zip
http://www.iconplanet.com/iconjam98/

Unfortunately for Windows users, Mac icons are typically better looking. Until I discovered IconView, I couldn't use (or even view) most of them. NOTE: you can search for IconView on Lockergnome's past issues page... if you didn't grab it the first time around. IconJam98 was a collaboration between all the best icon designers from around the world--their finished product can be downloaded here. But the reason I love this page so much is because there are FANTASTIC Mac icon site links in the sidebar. Now that you have IconView in hand, go out and grab some more 32x32 beauties!


GnomeFAVORITE

Bud's Windows 9x Troubleshooter
Found by Mark McClure

http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/

My brother Ben called me up the other day to tell me that he had fixed a problem with his printer. It was the first real "computer task" he had completed and troubleshot on his own. He told me that the Windows help files were useless. Well, duh. That's why sites like Bud's are created! If you're having difficulties with something related to Windows 95 (or 98), before you call up your geek friends, you might try finding the answer here first. Problems or no problems, this site has good info for all.


GnomeDESKTOP

FONT: Ordner [29k]

http://www.goldnagl.at/gf/ordner/Ordner.zip
http://www.goldnagl.at/gf/ordner/

This "punch label" font can be used in a variety of situations (and it even comes with an "inverse" face, too). Using Ordner instead of your fist is much safer (and less messy). Ever feel like you wanna punch someone? Well, don't--it usually hurts. And besides, violence isn't the answer. Unless, of course, you're on the phone with tech support and they're not answering your question. Now, don't get me wrong, tech support isn't all that bad, but they're darn lucky that video phones haven't become popular yet.


GnomeTIP

MIDI and WAV files are everywhere nowadays. Most of the time, we don't know who created them or how long they are. But, if you right-click on a MID or WAV file and select 'Properties', you should see extra tabs: Details & Preview. Under the Details tab, you can view time, artist, and possibly copyright information. Under the Preview tab... well, duh... you can listen to the sound file. It's like a built in media player! Try right-clicking on different types of files to see what "extra" tabs pop up (try DOC or EXE files).